Hitokiri's Return
by 9boxesofpenguins
Summary: Kenshin has left the Kamiya dojo. What has happened to him? No one knows. That is, until one night when he comes to see Kaoru...


**A/N**: Ok, before I begin, two quick notes:

I don't plan on doing research for this so it won't be historically accurate AT ALL (unless it's by accident).

I've only read books **1-16** so this may contradict some stuff in a later book. Plus, I know that this could never happen, it's just a weird idea.

And… Disclaimer, Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki… not me, ok.

**K**aoru walked home slowly, carrying food from the market. Her thoughts were mixed. One year ago, everything had changed. First of all, she was happy; the dojo had had wonderful attendance. Every class was full and that meant that she and Yahiko (and Sano, whenever he felt like mooching off of her) were living, and eating wonderfully. But, just before that, a new war had broken out. Many people weren't happy with the way the government was being run and so, in the 13th year of Meiji, they had begun a revolution. This war had, in turn, caused something even worse to happen, closer to home. Kenshin, deciding that the patriots would want HitokiriBattosai again, had once again become rurouni and had left the capital to wander Japan.

As she thought of Kenshin, Kaoru began, unknowingly, to cry. He had said goodbye to everyone this time, and they had all known that he was planning to leave for weeks before, but that one moment when he said goodbye, would be a sore spot for her forever.

As she approached the dojo, she saw a figure standing outside. The person was still only a shape in the distance, but she could guess who it was.

"Probably Sano come for a free dinner again." She thought to herself. But something, deep inside of her was saying, as always, that maybe it was Kenshin. Maybe he had returned to see her and would stay at the dojo again.

She approached the figure, who had begun to take shape. It was Sano. Kaoru sighed. Kenshin was never coming back.

"Finally," said Sano, as soon as Kaoru was within hailing distance. "You're back. I'm a little short on cash this week, so, can I eat here tonight? Great!" he finished before Kaoru could respond and went inside. Kaoru sighed. Oh well, what was one more mouth to feed? Many of her students were staying late tonight for dinner there anyway.

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After everyone had finished eating, Kaoru, Yahiko and (surprisingly) Sano washed the dishes while everyone else chatted merrily inside. It was beginning to get dark and the oil lamps inside had been lit. Outside, however, the moon and stars provided enough light to see. Suddenly, many voices inside shouted. There was then a series of loud noises that seemed to be a battle involving a real sword and the practice swords of the dojo, then silence.

As soon as the three outside had heard the first shouts, they had rushed inside to see what was going on. They entered the main room and stopped in shock. All of the oil lamps had gone out, only a few still smoked slightly. That however was not the most shocking thing. The floor of the room was covered in dead bodies and blood. Every one of Kaoru's students who had been present was dead. One figure stood alone in the centre of the room. The small amount of light that entered the room glinted off of the blade in their hand. The trio couldn't see the person at all as he or she stood in the shadows. Only their outline was visible. The figure spoke.

"Close this dojo and never teach again," they said, in a male voice "Or else I will return to reunite you with your fallen students." With this, the figure faded into the shadows and disappeared completely.

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Attendance at the dojo had dropped majorly since the night a week before when most of the students had been murdered. Not only were the dead students gone, but most of the others, having heard about what had happened, had either dropped out officially, or just stopped coming. Other than Yahiko, there were only two students left; Makoto and Arai. Kaoru had decided to leave the dojo open, despite the stranger's warning. However, Sano and Yahiko were pressuring her to close it.

"Come on," said Yahiko "There's only two students, it's not like you'll be losing tonnes of business. Besides, it's better to lose your business than to lose your life."

"Yahiko," Kaoru turned angrily to the boy "I'm in the middle of something. Go bother Sano."

"He's gone." Replied Yahiko "He said that he didn't want to be here when that guy came back to kill you. And frankly, I'm thinking of following him."

"Then go." Said Kaoru, waving a hand at him and turning back to her cooking. She was getting annoyed with Yahiko's constant badgering. Suddenly, Kaoru heard a rustling of leaves in the trees above her. There were soft, running footsteps on the wall above her. A figure jumped out of the trees, his sword held high above his head and struck at Kaoru. She dodged just before the blow landed right where her head had been a moment before. She didn't take a second look at the intruder, but ran inside to grab a sword she had recently acquired to protect herself in a case like this when the killer would return. She managed to reach the sword, an old katana that she had bought illegally from a man trying to get rid of it. She grabbed the sword and pulled it from its sheath. The blade gleamed in the dim light of the room. Kaoru turned to face her attacker just as he was coming through the door and froze. Time seemed to slow down, even stop as she saw his face for the first time. The assassin wore all black, his long, orange hair streamed out behind him as he jumped at her, the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek fell into shadow and stood out against the rest of his face.

Kaoru managed to move just before he struck her with his blade. She was in too much shock to strike, she didn't want to strike him either. How could she? The attacker turned to face her, his eyes set in a fierce death glare. As tears of sadness, fear and joy began to seep from her eyes, one word escaped her lips.

"Kenshin…"

**A/N**: Don't try to ask me where I'm going with this story because I don't rightly know. Also, I know that the names are just ones out of the books, but I don't know any other names so I just used those ones. Please review and tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always welcomed. Also, this is my first solo fic so it may not be the best, bear with me though, I'll get better as I write. Finally, please don't send me reviews lecturing me about how this could never happen and how they're getting out of character; I know that already.


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